KENNY CHESNEY GETS RETROSPECTIVE

Kenny Chesney knew he wanted an anthem for No Shoes Nation, a song that captured the thrill of living your life where you are, taking your shots and savoring the moment. When he wrote “Just To Say You Did” with longtime collaborators Brett James and David Lee Murphy, plus Matt Dragstrem who wrote “Rock Bottom,” they were distilling an awful lot of adventures had, songs sung and things you can’t create, but have to just grab onto when they happen.
 
“I wanted a song that really lifted up the heart of No Shoes Nation, these super-passionate people who just live wide open right where they are and create fun when they’re not working harder than anyone,” Chesney explains. “And when it came time to do a video, how do you capture that? Where do you go or how do you show it? But really, No Shoes Nation is all of it.”
 
Beyond panoramic overhead and in-the-moment shots from the stage of this year’s Sun Goes Down Tour, Chesney and longtime video director Shaun Silva started looking at all the hours of road footage they’d created. As Chesney continues, “We realized ‘Just To Say We Did’ is the crazy story of this dream, my band, road family and every single person we’ve encountered along the way.”
 
In addition to over two decades of collaborative footage, the man Wall Street Journal calls “the King of the Road” also mined his own archives for some very early in his career memories that range from his earliest crews, crazy dance moves, video games, random stages and one very randy fan who disrobed while speeding alongside his bus.
 
“All of the faces, the places, it was unbelievable once we started looking,” marvels the eight-time Entertainer of the Year. “When we ran off to join the circus, I had no idea it could ever be what this is. I made a joke about playing Neyland Stadium, because it seemed crazy – and we’ve now played over 200 stadium shows for the greatest fans, the loudest, proudest, most passionate people in the world. If you want to talk about shooting a shot? Here you go.
 
“It’s easy to come out to a show, and think it was always like this. We are two decades into playing these major stadiums, and it’s awesome. But when I look at these moments – Grace Potter in a cowboy hat, Bobby Lowe on a motorcycle in a hallway or Jill and Helena rocking out in a corridor – that’s where I realize how much fun we’ve had, and hopefully all of the citizens of No Shoes Nation have had, too. Because looking at this, I know we sure can say we did!”
 
With just three nights left on Chesney’s Sun Goes Down 2024 Tour, his unprecedented three-night stand at Gillette Stadium, the songwriter/superstar from East Tennessee wanted to do something special to mark the moment, the summer, the tour – and the reality of seizing even small moments can set your joy, and possibly even your life in motion. Presented by Blue Chair Bay® Rum, this year’s tour celebrates new friends and old, memories in the making and songs that have defined coming of age across the heartland this century.
 “...because everything gets hotter when the sun goes down...”